After heated debate, Budweiser finally got the go-ahead Thursday to take over the town of Crested Butte, Colorado.
It's going to paint parts of the downtown area blue for an upcoming "Are You Up For Whatever" ad campaign. KMGH tells us some residents are more than a little excited.
KMGH: "We had shirts printed especially for the occasion."
"Yes, Bud Light, bring it to Crested Butte!"
While others aren't interested in Bud Light's fantasy-town makeover.
KMGH: "Watch them come to town and paint it blue. A beautiful, pristine mountain town."
In early August, Bud Light's marketing director didn't seem worried people would oppose the offer as he said, "What's to come during our #UpForWhatever weekend at Whatever, USA is going to be off the charts."
Heck, Anheuser-Busch was even advertising the upcoming ad.
ANHEUSER-BUSCH: "This summer Bud Light is taking over a real town where people are up for anything."
But not all of the residents were up for anything, and Bud Light ended up doubling its original offer of $250,000 to make sure it sealed the deal.
According toExaminer, town officials were secretly debating whether to take the first offer, and Bud Light brought the second, doubled offer to the table. The outlet reports officials agreed upon that offer without a word to the town's residents.
And as you can imagine, many residents didn't like being left in the dark about such an important decision.
KCNC: "It seems like the council thought that if they brought this to the town the town would have a lot of issues. So they thought, 'Hmm, it's better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission.'"
But apparently the behind-the-scenes planning was for good reason.
A local resident who has been hired to help plan the event told The Denver Post: "The secrecy behind the event is because we don't want 35,000 people here. It's a matter of safety and security for us."
But that plan backfired big-time as the news was leaked to the town. It was followed by controversy that has been making national headlines.
The event is scheduled to take place Sept. 5-7.
